West Ham United accuse London Stadium owners of ‘misleading the public’ to cover financial struggles

FURIOUS

The Hammers have 97 years remaining on their lease at the stadium, but believe their character has been discredited by the London Legacy Development Corporation

West Ham United have been left incensed by the the London Stadium owners and have accused them of lying to the public to cover the true extent of their financial woes.

The Premier League club, who have 97 years remaining on their lease at the former Olympic Stadium, feel particularly aggrieved after the London Legacy Development Company suggested they were to blame for their £22million loss last year.

West Ham have furiously hit back to defend themselves from the accusations by E20 and the LLDC

Lyn Garner, the E20 chief executive labelled their tenancy as ‘the elephant in the room’ when the staggering losses were discussed.

And now, in an exclusive with The Sun, the club have issued a statement in defence to the claims.

A Hammers statement given to SunSport said: “West Ham United are concerned that this is deliberately misleading the public and, more importantly, taxpayers.

“West Ham now pay £3million in rent due to additional annual fees that have been introduced since our agreement in 2013 and a further £6million was received by our landlord from the food and beverage sold at our matches.

Problems are mounting on and off the pitch for West Ham United

“With additional fees we pay for services at the London Stadium, the total revenues received from West Ham United and our activities is £10million a year

“The current strategy to point the finger at West Ham United is simply not the solution to the long-term viability and commercial success of the venue.

“We are running a football club, not the stadium, and for Ms Garner to lay any blame for their financial struggles at our door is wrong and misleading the public.”

E20 are expected to be backed by the LLDC until next March, though Mayor of London Sadiq Khan may pull the plug on the use of public money to fund the stadium.

West Ham are currently in a legal dispute with E20 after the latter refused to accept a £380,000 offer from the club to install claret material surrounding the pitch.

The landlord wants the club to pay £325,000-per-year to change the colour of the material, according to the Times.